Czech equities, as measured by the
PX Index, were up 1.9% for the week to close at 1,788.1. The overall volume of trading on the PSE reached
USD 938.3m, 35.6% above its 12M weekly average of
USD 692.2m.
The main
PX Index reached an all time high during the past week. CEZ,
Telefonica O2 CR and Komercni banka were the most actively traded stocks. Komercni banka jumped by more than 10% and reached its own all time high, breaking through the important resistance level of
CZK 4,000. International investors were focused on Komercni, which replaced
Zentiva on
UBS’s “top buy” list.
Philip Morris showed the biggest decline of the week. The listing went ex-dividend with the expectation of a 2006 dividend of
CZK 600 per share. CEZ was also traded last week with the last date with current dividend rights. In our projections, we are looking for a dividend of
CZK 21 per share.
Zentiva fell more than 2% on the back of the announcement of the new Czech health reform plans and it was removed from
UBS's “top buy” list. However, it recovered somewhat towards the end of the week. The new listings on the PSE closed out the week in positive territory, with real estate developer ECM strengthening by almost 2% and textile producer
Pegas Nonwovens increasing by more than 4%.
This week is a decisive with annual general meetings scheduled for CEZ,
Telefonica O2 CR and Komercni banka. There are expectations that
Telefonica O2 CR will announces its dividend record and payment dates this week. Management's proposal is for
CZK 50 per share and speculations are that the payment date will be about the same as last year, which means the end of September. Starting Wednesday, April 18, trading will be suspended in CEZ and
Philip Morris until April 23 and April 24, respectively.